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Sunday, February 28, 2016

Gun allergies

i) For some people, this is a secular religion. Opposition to private gun ownership makes them feel virtuous. Theirs is a righteous cause.

This can, in turn, combine with a social dynamic. Many people define themselves as much or more by what they are against. This becomes a litmus test of social acceptance and affirmation.

ii) But here's a different consideration. In the past, the average man had to be able to do a little bit of everything. But nowadays, we can pay other people to do just about everything for us. Roofers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, carpet cleaners, housekeepers, automechanics, washer/dryer repairmen, take-out/delivery food.

I had aunts who could make their own clothes. I had an uncle who built his own house. He wasn't a carpenter by trade. That was just something men knew how to do back then.

When I was a kid (60s-70s), many boys were amateur automechanics. They were good troubleshooters.

Now, my point is not to wax nostalgic about yesteryear. I don't say this as a criticism. It can be very convenient. That's certain something I myself take advantage of.

Moreover, in an age of specialization, where just about everything is run by computerized electronics, it isn't possible to fix it on your own. It takes equipment and technical expertise that most folks don't have and can't have.

My point, though, is that this conditions us to automatically delegate tasks we could do for ourselves. You have many people who have never fired a gun because they think that's what the police are for. There's a special class of people we pay to do that for us, so that we don't have to. The very idea of holding a gun or firing a gun seems unnatural and alien because we've gotten so used to subcontracting most every other task or responsibility.

There are, of course, problems with that mentality. If you wake up at night and see an intruder in your bedroom, it's too late to dial 911. Moreover, by surrendering self-defense to law enforcement, you are ceding personal autonomy to the authorities. You become answerable to them, not vice versa.